Fairings are structures often included in airborne structures to provide a smooth surface, or to redirect airflow, for reducing drag during flight. Fairings are sometimes included on aircraft, for example, at or near stabilizers, wings, various structure junctions, landing gear, flaps, fins, rudders, and other structures. Fairings are also used in other airborne structures such as rockets, space vehicles, and the like. In some applications, fairings are used to cover couplings or other connection points between deployable and/or configurable structures such as movable wings, flaps, vents, tanks, bombs, missiles, and the like.
Some deployable structures such as missiles and bombs, however, often do not include fairings due to space limitations and/or other considerations. With respect to air-to-air and/or air-to-ground weapons such as missiles and bombs, for example, a connection point is formed between a lug or other connection mechanisms on the weapon and a connection mechanism on the aircraft. After the weapon is deployed, the lug or other coupling structures on the weapon typically are exposed. These exposed connection mechanisms can create drag, thereby reducing speed, range, and/or other performance characteristics of the weapon.
As such, in some instances it may be desirable to provide a fairing or other structure for covering the connection mechanism and/or for diverting air around the exposed connection mechanism. Providing a fairing or other structure to reduce drag induced by exposed connection mechanisms that can move into place after deployment of the weapon can require numerous moving parts, power supplies, gears, and/or other mechanisms, thereby affecting an already weight-sensitive platform, further degrading performance of the weapon.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.